Tremayne Simpson

eric, Excellent observation. As I explained earlier in the post, it is important that the instructor is fully vested in the learning objectives of the course, if not they may not be able to create effective assessment tools and valid activities for the students. Tremayne Simpson

Jeanne, I agree. I generally conduct a short learning styles inventory for my "100 level" students on the first day of class and use the information to teach them about the various categories. This is helpful for me, because I can find ways to address their individual learning styles, by varying the types of activities that I provide to the class. Tremayne Simpson

Crystal, Learning Taxonomy is not a difficult concept to understand, however the difficulty lies within properly implementing it within the structure of the course. When preparing my lesson plans, I try to visualize the content from the perspective of a student and ask myself questions in that context. From there, I am usually able to further specify the goals of my learning objectives. Tremayne Simpson

Dixie, What prompts do you use to assess if a topic needs to be "re-taught"? For me, I tend to use lecture discussions as an informal "measuring stick" and accompanying activities (pertaining to the lecture) as a more formal method. Tremayne Simpson

Dixie, This is an excellent summary of the importance of learning objectives. In addition, learning objectives can assist an instructor with creating the appropriate assessment tool(s) for the course. I always make sure that my exams, projects and assignments are aligned with the goals of the learning objectives. If I did not do this, I could not assume that I am assessing my students correctly. Tremayne Simpson

Desirae, I agree. Usually, I provide partial credit for students that are able summarize a particular term, but are not able to provide the exact word. For me, it is more important that they are able to conceptualize the meaning and apply it in the context of "everyday" situtations. Simply knowing the word and definition, does not represent a full understanding of the word/phrase. Tremayne Simpson

Desirae, I agree and I make sure to save all class documentation to my portable hard drive, including the archived material. Periodically, I browse my archived material to review old assignments to see if there is a possibility of "revising" them for future classes. Tremayne Simpson

Jeanne, Great observation. Time management skills are an essential part of planning lessons and making sure that all of the students will acquire the learning objectives, by the end of the course. Tremayne Simpson

Desirae, I also use exams to fully understand student comprehension and readiness for advancing in the learning taxonomy. I find that varying the type of questions (multiple choice, essay, short answer, etc.) is detrimental in understanding if the student is able to appropriately apply course concepts. Tremayne Simpson

Desirae, In addition, it is important to refer students to industry-based journal articles and subscriptions in their field of study. We are constantly acquiring new publications and subscriptions (in our learning resource center), to ensure that students are aware of industry trends. Tremayne Simpson